Farm Laborer

Your Job


Are you interested in nurturing and maintaining high quality crops, farm animals, and livestock? Can you excel in operating machinery and physical labor for feeding, planting and harvesting? How about receiving on-the-job agricultural training from farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers to advance your career while getting paid?


If you're at ease with this work and can demonstrate care and skill to get the job done, then this job has your name on it!

Your Day


Farm Laborer responsibilities may include the following:

• Harvesting, plowing, fertilizing, and inspecting crops by hand.
• Irrigating farm soil and maintaining ditches, pipes, and pumps.
• Operating and servicing farm machinery and tools.
• Spraying fertilizers or pesticides to control insects, fungi, and weeds.
• Moving shrubs, plants, and trees with wheelbarrows or tractors.
• Feeding livestock as well as cleaning and disinfecting their pens, cages, yards, and hutches.
• Examining animals for signs of illnesses or injuries.
• Using brands, tags, or tattoos to mark livestock in order to identify ownership and grade.
• Herding livestock to pastures for grazing or to scales, trucks, or other enclosures.
• Administering vaccines to protect animals from diseases.
• Operating machinery, like automatic milking machines, feed conveyors, or driving tractors.
• Supervising part-time workers who pick these crops.
• Planting new trees and bushes.
• Pruning or cutting back, the trees and bushes.
• Maintaining and repairing farm equipment, including repairing fences, painting buildings, and building sheds and barns

You will need to have the following:

• Dexterity and excellent hand-eye coordination to harvest crops and operate farm machinery.
• Listening skills to work well with others and take instructions from farmers and other managers.
• Physical stamina to be able to perform tasks repeatedly.
• Physical strength to lift heavy objects, including tools and crops.
• Mechanical skills to be able to operate complex farm machinery.
• Willingness to follow safety guidelines at all times.
• Ability to stand and walk, lift and/or move up to 50 to over 100 lbs.
• English language skills.
• Spanish is helpful for agricultural supervisors.

Your Gain


What you may gain while on the job:

• Staying active - the job will keep you busy and moving throughout the day.
• Technical Expertise - learning to operate and master complex processes tools and machinery.
• Problem solving and crisis management skills - avoiding and resolving potential negative experiences.
• Teamwork - partnering with co-workers and supervisors to ensure the job is completed.
• Teaching & Management skills - helping train and prepare new employees for the job.
• Rewarding career - opportunities for training, advancement to supervisory or management roles, or working in the farm product, food science or animal breeding industries. Those with prior experience increase chances of getting promoted or earning higher pay.

Your Experience
1 Year